In the Arab world, herbal medicines are very common! When I was younger, we used to go to the dry grocer (العطار) whenever we suffer from minor aliments like stomach ache, constipation, cough, common cold, etc. He would give me herbs and tell me how to use them! By time, this practice became less and less common. However, recently herbal medicines started to gain more importance, and now we can find some herbal medicines available at pharmacies, prescribed by doctors and advised by pharmacists.

In this post, I mention some herbal medicines which we used traditionally in Egypt to treat the symptoms of stomach ache.

Mint (النعناع)

Mint leaves should be boiled and sweetened. You can drink them cold or warm.

Mint extract is also available at pharmacies and it can be added to some water and then we can drink it.

Photo from flickr.com by Edsel Little

Caraway (الكراوية)

Caraway seeds are brewed in boiling water, covered for a couple of minutes. After that you can add sugar or honey, or drink it without.

image from flickr.com by altabeeb alarabi

Anise (اليانسون)

Anise seeds are brewed in boiling water, covered for a couple of minutes. After that you can add sugar or honey, or drink it without.

Cloves (القرنفل)

Cloves should be brewed in boiling water for 15 minutes. It should be consumed after meals.

Photo from flickr.com by Elenadan

Thyme (الزعتر)

A small spoon of thyme should be brewed in a cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. It should be consumed after meals.